Chinese firms, Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) according to Bloomberg, use U.S. technology to manufacture an advanced chip in China in 2023.
Based on findings from sources familiar with the case, it was revealed that SMIC used technology from California-based companies Applied Materials Inc and Lam Research Corp to develop a sophisticated 7-nanometer chip for Huawei. Significantly, SMIC acquired the American machinery before the United States introduced a ban on the sale to China in October 2022.
The White House Department of Commerce, alongside Huawei, Applied Materials, Lam Research, and also SMIC, declined providing responses to comments requests. The United States has been gradually implementing measures to restrict SMIC and Huawei’s access to advanced U.S. technology.
Although, in 2019 Huawei found itself on a trade restrictions list, under the Trump administration due to alleged sanctions violations, while SMIC experienced similar fate in 2020 over claims of connections to the Chinese military industrial complex. Both companies have consistently denied any allegations of illegality.
The U.S. and China in the realm of technology have according to recent development is having a tensed moment. It was reported last month that the U.S. government took aim at SMIC, cutting ties with its most advanced factory after the company produced a chip for Huawei, which powers its Mate 60 Pro phone.
President Biden’s administration has increased efforts to curb shipments of advanced AI chips to China, part of a broader strategy aimed at preventing Beijing from acquiring cutting-edge U.S. technologies that could bolster its military capabilities.
In the meantime, China is embarking on a fundraising move to strengthen its chip industry. Bloomberg News reported that the country is mobilizing over $27 billion for its largest chip fund to date, this is to rally a push to the development of cutting-edge technologies.
This however, appears to be a response to the U.S. campaign aimed at impeding China’s technological advancement, reflecting the intensifying rivalry between the two global powers in the semiconductor domain.